How Barry Bannan feels about David Storch as Sheffield Wednesday return nears | OneFootball

Bannan has opened up on the new Wednesday era under Storch and Arise Capital Partners - an era he looks set to be a part of

The era of new Sheffield Wednesday owners Arise Capital Partners has certainly got off to an exciting start, with the mood around the fanbase a joyous one right now.

Gone are the days of the non-payment of wages and bills from Dejphon Chansiri, and in has come a fresh mindset led by American businessman David Storch, who has not only been transparent with fans, but has been making moves behind the scenes to make sure the Owls are challenging for League One promotion next season.

The installation of figures like ex-Sunderland figure David Bruce as CEO, as well as Stockport County's Simon Wilson as sporting director have gone down incredibly well, and when it comes to building Henrik Pedersen's squad for the new season, Wednesday are looking to be ambitious.

A new deal has been agreed for Max Lowe, Sil Swinkels looks set to arrive on a permanent basis from Aston Villa, Ricardo Santos has already signed from Swansea City, and whilst a reported £1 million offer (as per BBC York) for York City striker Josh Stones has been turned down, it shows where the ambitions of Storch and co lie.

The name on every Wednesday fan's lips though is of course Barry Bannan, who reluctantly departed in January for pastures new after 10 years at Hillsborough, opting to sign for promotion-chasing Millwall due to the uncertainty of the direction that the club was set to move under the expected ownership of James Bord.

However, a month after Bannan's exit to The Den, Bord's bid to take control of Wednesday had collapsed - the professional poker player had offered a mammoth £47.6 million to buy the stricken South Yorkshire outfit, but that had grossly overestimated the actual valuation of the club, and further digging into their accounts meant his deal could no longer be justified.

In stepped Storch, his son Michael and Tom Costin though to get a deal done by the beginning of May to take Wednesday out of administration, and not only did they win their final Championship game on the day of the new ownership unveiling against West Brom to make sure they finished on zero points instead of the minus figures, but they were also able to negotiate not starting on a negative points tally for the League One season in what was a welcome twist.

Barry Bannan issues honest David Storch thoughts as Sheffield Wednesday return nears

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Many fans have been expecting the return of Bannan since Millwall's season ended in the Championship play-offs, and as revealed earlier this week by the Sheffield Star, a deal is close to bring the veteran midfielder back to Hillsborough.

And speaking to the same publication, Bannan has given his view on how he perceives the new ownership of the club - and it's a world away from the uncertainty he had about the aforementioned Bord.

“From the outside looking in, they [Arise] seem to be amazing,” Bannan said.

“Everything they've done so far has been spot on.

“They've obviously got the fans behind them now, which, when you have got that community at a club, is a strong, strong thing. Obviously, they're on about developing the training ground and the stadium, which has probably needed doing for a while now.

“Even small things like that are amazing for the fans at the club to see. They have a CEO now and a sporting director, who have both been in football, done really good jobs and got really good CVs.

“I think the club had been crying out for that for the whole time that I had been here, really. There was no people put in place to do these jobs, and they are major, major jobs at clubs that make them tick.

“Everything that's happened so far under the new owner has been really, really good. As I said, as a fan, it's the best thing ever because you go into the season after the season that they had last season and you look at it now and everybody's upbeat.

“The city's got a bounce about it again. You see today, with these fans, they're all so excited for next season, and rightly so because I think the owner, David Storch, has done an amazing job so far and he's, brought the club back [to life] again.”

All signs point towards a glorious Sheffield Wednesday return for Barry Bannan

When Bannan's inevitable return to Sheffield Wednesday is confirmed, it will end the most predictable transfer saga of the summer window.

It never felt quite right seeing Bannan in a Millwall shirt, even for neutrals - he was simply meant to end his playing days at Hillsborough, and having had a hunch that the club wasn't going to go in the right direction when Bord was the preferred bidder, he was seemingly right all along as he pulled out.

Storch's ownership is different though - so many positive things have already happened in recent weeks both on and off the pitch, and adding Bannan back to Henrik Pedersen's midfield, even at the age of 36, could be a game-changer in League One, as his legs are clearly still capable of producing magic.